Lighthouse Keepers

Hello, hello! Why don’t you grab a cup of hot coffee and settle into a comfy recliner as I share my story with you today? Hi, I’m Nancy Guenther. I was born into an Old Colony Russian Mennonite family, as many (maybe most??) of you were. It was a large family. Isn’t that surprising? ;) By the time I was born, there were 7 of us: two girls, boy, girl, two boys, and me. I was followed by 4 more boys. I love having grown up with a ton of sibs. Looking back, I see that my life has been nothing short of amazing, although not easy. It’s not been absolutely awful either, but rather an incredible mixture of awesome and awful. Good and bad. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. I see the marks of God all over it, from the day I was born (quite literally) until today, the day I sit here and attempt to tell you about it. I really wish I could share the details of many of the events and circumstances, simply cuz God’s been so good and gracious in all...

It was a few weeks before Christmas. Money was tight, expectations felt high and then came that hydro bill for over $800. Long story short, I ended up snapping at the Hydro One employee on the phone and then hung up on her. As far as she knows, I have stopped feeding my kids so that we can forever pay the hydro bills. Truthfully, it was not her fault. She was simply the messenger and who knows what I did to her day.  Looking back, I am disappointed at how I handled the situation. I like to think that I learn as I go and have grown since, though I am sure I have more great stories to come.  It is that time of year again. We sing and speak of love, joy and peace. We prepare gifts and are full of excitement. Or are we really? It is also possible that we are busy, overwhelmed and frustrated. As we go to town, we see the hustle and bustle all around us. With the hustle and bustle, there is a lack of smiling faces. Chances are we will experience bad customer service, get cut of...

Isn’t it wonderful that we can celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ this Christmas season?! ( Original Post )    One homeschool morning a few years ago now, I had just settled down at the table with the days lessons with our son who found it very challenging to sit and put his brain to work on something that was not his idea of being worth thinking about.   We heard a car stop close by and out stepped a couple of nicely dressed people and of course, one had to be walking towards our door. I groaned inwardly and I then told one of our daughters to tell this lady that their mother was not available. It must have been the Holy Spirit opening my eyes to this opportunity and I quickly changed my mind. “Wait, let me get the door”, I said. I put a smile on my face, opened the door, and this is how I greeted this woman who was here to share from her Jehovah’s Witness training: “Isn’t it great to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savi...